Snoring is caused by the vibration of tissues in the back of the throat as air passes through a narrowed airway during sleep, often due to relaxed throat muscles, excess tissue (like large tonsils/uvula), nasal congestion (colds, allergies, deviated septum), sleeping position (on your back), alcohol/sedatives, or obesity, all limiting airflow and increasing vibration. These factors can obstruct the airway, leading to the characteristic rattling sound, and can sometimes signal obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Snoring is commonly caused by anything that narrows the airway, like nasal congestion (colds, allergies), sleeping on your back, alcohol/sedatives, extra weight (especially around the neck), enlarged tonsils/adenoids, a deviated septum, or a long soft palate/uvula, all leading to tissue vibration during sleep. Factors like age, sex (males more likely), sleep deprivation, and smoking also increase the risk.
How is snoring treated?
Snoring in females can be caused by various factors, including weight gain, hormonal changes, sleep position, and allergies.
Sleep Apnea Snoring Sounds: Sleep apnea snoring sounds are erratic and occur in a pattern of loud snoring followed by periods of silence. During these silent moments, breathing temporarily stops due to airway obstruction. After these pauses, the person may make a choking or gasping sound as they struggle to breathe.
Loud, disruptive snoring, especially when accompanied by gasping, choking, pauses in breathing, or extreme daytime tiredness, is a major red flag for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a serious condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep, significantly increasing risks for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cognitive/mood issues. It signals the need for evaluation by a sleep specialist to prevent severe health complications from poor sleep quality and oxygen deprivation.
Half of adults occasionally snore and it turns out, fit and healthy folks are not immune. A quick physiology primer: When you fall asleep, the muscles in your neck and throat relax and tissue falls back, closing down on your airway.
Mucus buildup (sounds yucky, doesn't it?) can partially block the nasal passage and either be the cause or an intensifying factor to your snoring. Avoiding dairy products extends beyond just avoiding milk a couple hours before bed. Other dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream can have the same effect.
To stop snoring naturally, try changing to a side sleeping position, elevating your head, losing weight, quitting smoking, and avoiding alcohol and sedatives before bed, as these lifestyle changes clear airways and reduce tissue relaxation that causes vibrations. You can also use nasal strips to improve airflow, try nasal rinses, or do throat exercises to strengthen muscles, but see a doctor if snoring persists to rule out sleep apnea.
Shaquille O'Neal endorses and uses ZYPPAH, a hybrid oral appliance designed to stop snoring by using a patented tongue band to hold the tongue forward and a mandibular advancement feature to open the airway. After being diagnosed with sleep apnea, Shaq partnered with ZYPPAH to raise awareness, as the device is a more comfortable alternative to the CPAP machine he struggled with. ZYPPAH is a boil-and-bite mouthpiece that gently secures the tongue and moves the lower jaw forward to prevent airway obstruction.
Surgery is sometimes used to treat snoring if other treatments do not help. But it's not widely available on the NHS, it does not always work and snoring can come back afterwards.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea, while deficiencies in vitamin B12 and iron can also affect the quality of your sleep.
When people age, we tend to gain weight, including in the neck area. As the neck gets thicker, it narrows the air passages, which results in difficulty breathing and, in turn, snoring. In addition, as we age and become less active, we lose muscle tone, which includes the muscles in our throat.
The figures get much higher as we get older however and by the age of 60 the majority of men snore (60%) and 40% of women snore. Q Is it mainly people who are overweight who snore? A That is the common perception but surprisingly many thin people snore and find it has a severe impact upon their daytime functioning.
The sagging tissues narrow your airway, causing these tissues to vibrate. Snoring can be caused by a number of factors, such as the anatomy of your mouth and sinuses, alcohol consumption, allergies, a cold, and your weight.
The "3 rule" for sleep apnea refers to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's (AASM) recommended way to score hypopneas (partial breathing pauses) in a sleep study, defining them as a ≥30% airflow reduction lasting 10+ seconds, coupled with either a ≥3% drop in blood oxygen saturation (desaturation) or an arousal from sleep, capturing more clinically significant events than the older 4% rule. This updated guideline helps diagnose more patients, especially women and those with milder cases, who experience subtle but impactful breathing disruptions that the stricter 4% rule might miss, improving identification of those who benefit from treatment.
Dehydration leads to thickened mucus in the mouth and throat, which can cause the surfaces inside to stick together and cause or worsen snoring.
Occasional snoring is typically harmless. But if it's loud, nightly, or accompanied by gasping or choking, it could be a red flag for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). What Is Sleep Apnea? Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts throughout the night.
Type of snorer
Your snoring type is determined by where it originates. The four main types are tongue, nose, mouth, or multifactorial.
SNORING AND SLEEP DISORDERED BREATHING HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED RISK FOR MORTALITY AND CORONARY HEART DISEASE1–8 AND an accelerated atherosclerosis progression.
Sleep apnea can affect anyone at any age, but it becomes much more common in middle-aged and older adults, especially men, with risk increasing after 40, often linked to weight gain and fatty tissue buildup in the neck; in children, it peaks between ages 2 and 8, frequently due to enlarged tonsils and adenoids.